In less than a month Millionaire Chess will host their third edition of the high stakes chess tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This new venue and lower entry fee hopes to give access to players who are located where the majority of the chess players are located and who are finding the cross-country trek to Las Vegas cost-prohibitive.

This relocation is not something that was a knee jerk reaction to any issue at Planet Hollywood, but merely an attempt to find the right equilibrium so that the tournament can reach the most people. In the future MCO hopes to have tournaments around the country as a staple.

The idea of lowering the entry fee was one of the issue in the first two iterations of the tournament. Some stated that they could not afford the $1,000 entry fee. Of course with the lead time given, it is a reasonable goal, but not always attainable for all. The $549 entry fee was a compromise, but with this reduction came a commensurate reduction in the prize fund (US$510,000). One may argue that the marketing mystique of the “Millionaire” franchise has been lost since it does not have the million-dollar prize incentive, but here another adjustment.

What else? There is a new idea of the “Redemption Jackpot” where players can re-enter and compete in a mini-tournament with the remaining rounds. It is designed to give players a chance who may otherwise have lost hope in winning a prize.

With all of these changes you will still have a top flight tournament with the same panache as the first two. There is still the “Millionaire Monday” theme alone with a plethora of extra prizes to be won. The first two editions tried a number of ideas… some worked, some didn’t. However, if one is satisfied with the same run-of-the-mill tournaments which tout no new ideas, then one should also be satisfied that chess will die a slow death. The model has to change.

See you in Atlantic City!

The 2016 Millionaire Chess Open

Thursday, October 6th through Monday, October 11th 2016Harrah’s Resort (Atlantic City, New Jersey)